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Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Review of "Mad Dog: The Maurice Vachon Story"

I mention this in the book review, but when I saw this book was available for review, I jumped on the chance because I saw Mad Dog Vachon perform at many wrestling events when I was growing up in Minnesota, both live and on television. I enjoyed watching his antics in the ring, and I enjoyed this book. Here is my review of "Mad Dog."

Growing up in the Twin
Cities, I would watch wrestling every weekend on television and would
occasionally attend wrestling cards in the old Minneapolis Auditorium. One of
the big stars in the business at the time was Mad Dog Vachon.So when I saw a biography of the man was
available for review, I jumped at the chance to do so.

Starting with his
childhood in Quebec in which he was considered a trouble-maker, the book
follows Maurice’s venture into wrestling, from his amateur performance that earned
him a trip to the Olympics to his somewhat nomadic life as a professional
wrestler to his life afterward. There are many interesting stories along the
way about Vachon’s professional and personal life. At times it seemed amazing
that with all the travel and all the issues in his personal life that he became
such a star in wrestling.

But it was Vachon’s
work ethic and willingness to help other wrestlers to succeed that helped make
him the successful heel (villain) that he became. He put on a great show for
the fans, while remembering that it was them who were the most important people
in the business. The reader will get a glimpse into what Maurice was like
through his interactions with wrestlers, promoters and his brother Paul, who
under the name “Butcher” became Maurice’s partner in the ring and later in the
business.

What made this book a good read was the research and writing about the inner
workings of the professional wrestling circuit.There are many more smaller organizations than the big ones with which
many people are familiar.Much like real
estate, one’s location can determine the success of a wrestler.This was certainly the case for Mad Dog as
his career took off when Vern Gagne brought him to Minneapolis. Reading about
his matches in the Twin Cities brought back a lot of memories and made the book
a fun one to read.

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.